Running for Life
by Sunlight through Leaves
Summary: Third in the 'Running' series. Sequel to Running Into Each Other and Running Away from Others. What happens when Kakashi is sent on a mission alone that they have thoroughly underestimated? What happens when he's injured and unable to get home? [Kakairu]
1. Bleeding

Title: Running for Life

Anime: Naruto

Pairings: Kakairu, Genrai

I'm back!! I've had this idea floating around for a while, and here's the first chapter. This is a sequel to Running Into Each Other and Running Away from Others. It's a little darker than the other two, but I promise the next chapter will make you laugh!

This has not been beta-d because I don't know of anyone who would read it, so forgive any mistakes.

As always, I do not own these characters. If I did, this would already be an episode and people would be making bad youtube AMV's using the scenes from it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Suddenly, the world crumbled out from underneath him, and as he fell, he tried very hard not to think about how much the ground was going to hurt when he hit it. The last attack his opponent launched had fractured the ground beneath him, destroying the precarious balance of rocks that had been supporting the cliff. Both of them pitched backwards into the darkness of the chasm below, scrambling to focus chakra to slow their fall.

His body was exhausted. He could not even raise his arms form any seals, but he fumbled with his weapons pouch, forcing his shaking fingers to close around the hilt of his single, remaining kunai. In the last few seconds before they hit the ground, he reached up, wrapping his arm around his opponent's neck and repositioned his other hand to place the kunai in front of his chest, pointed outwards. As they hit the ground, the other man's force drove the kunai hilt-deep into his chest, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood before letting out one, last shuttering breath and collapsing.

With the last of his fading strength, Kakashi shoved his opponent off of him and lay on his back, panting. The other man's weight had slammed the kunai hilt against his chest, and he was sure that it had broken several ribs. Blood dripped from several dozen wounds scattered across his frame, and he raised a trembling hand, dipped the tips of his pale fingers in the pool of blood pouring from the stab wound in his abdomen and pressed his hand to the floor, gasping, "Kuchiyose…no….juts…" The end trailed off, but it was enough.

A small cloud of smoke appeared above the ground and cleared to reveal Pakkun, "Look, boss…." Pakkun stopped talking when he realized that Kakashi would not be answering. He spun around and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. _I have to help him….I have to…I have too…._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The small room was full of shadows, except for the small triangle of light leaking in from the window thanks to the full moon that rose high above the trees. At the very edge of that patch of light, a tanned hand hung out of the covers off the edge of the bed. The occupant was sprawled across the bed, sleeping like he had no bones in his body. The visible hand slowly closed and opened as if he was reaching for something that he couldn't quite grab. The comfortable sprawl lasted for only a few more seconds, then he tucked into a tight ball, before flipping over onto his back. His hands fisted on the sheets briefly, and his eyes opened, taking in the dark room and trying to understand what had woken him.

One hand dragged down the side of the bed as he turned to look at the clock, and it slowly sank in that his and had not encountered the furry lump that had been sleeping with him ever since Kakashi left on his last mission. "Pakkun?" He called out through a yawn and stretched his arms above his head, about to get out of bed. He knew that he would never get back to sleep without the little pug sprawled over his legs. They'd both learned quickly that neither Pakkun nor Iruka slept well when Kakashi was gone and they had to get comfortable on the cold and empty bed. So they'd reached an agreement. Pakkun slept on Iruka's legs, and neither of them told Kakashi about it. It would inflate his already overgrown idea of his own importance in both of their lives.

Before he could toss back the covers, a cloud of chakra smoke enveloped the space of the bed, and Iruka let out a startled 'oof' as a weight dropped sharply down on his stomach. He rubbed at his eyes, yawning again. "Hey, there you…" As his vision cleared, he noticed that Pakkun was partially covered in blood. "What happened?" Iruka came wide-awake in a split second.

"He's hurt." Pakkun looked distressed. "It's-it's bad…."

"He's here?" Iruka asked as his feet touched the cold floor at the bedside.

Pakkun shook his head. "No. I…I couldn't get him back…."

Iruka froze in the middle of putting his pants on. "He's injured out there?"

"Yes."

"Show me."

Iruka grabbed his vest off the chair, pulling it on over his naked torso and grabbing his weapons pouch and a small first aid kit as he ducked out the window. He did not even bother to zip the vest and sprinted after Pakkun.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

They traveled for almost a whole day without rest. Pakkun worried a little bit about Iruka especially when the Chuunin's foot slipped on a tree branch and he almost broke his chin on it when he fell, but Iruka ignored it and continued on. He was too worried about Kakashi to think about a little thing like fatigue.

Pakkun suddenly looked ahead. "He's at the bottom of the cliff up there."

Iruka sprang over the edge, letting gravity take him down to the forest floor below, his feet skidding on the loam as he landed. He froze, a lump solidifying in his throat and making it impossible for him to breath.

Kakashi lay in the middle of the clearing in a dark pool of liquid that rippled slightly with every scarce breath he took.

"Ka-ka…." Iruka swallowed hard. "Kakashi?" The name broke through all reserves and feeling returned to his limbs as he rushed to the Jounin's side. He dropped to his knees beside Kakashi and leaned over the other man, grateful beyond all belief that Kakshi was still alive.

As he leaned in, Kakashi's eyes snapped open. His arm shot up, and he wrapped his fingers tightly around Iruka's throat. The single normal eye was hazed with pain and did not seem to be able to focus on the Chuunin's face. The sharingan whirled dangerously, taking in everything surrounding the fallen Jounin.

Iruka did not struggle. He knew, deep in his heart, that even through the pain, Kakashi would recognize him and would not _ever_ hurt him. _I know you Kakashi, and even through all of this, you know me. You won't hurt me. I know you won't hurt me. _"Kakashi…" He whispered quietly.

The spinning of the sharigan slowed and then stopped, and both eyes widened. "…ruka…?" The name was barely audible. "Iruka?"

Iruka leaned closer and gently rested his hand on Kakashi's forehead. He was burning up. "I'm here, Kakashi." He paused, watching Kakashi's eyes slowly close. "I'm going to get you home. I promise." But Kakashi had already passed out.

Iruka worked quickly, binding what wounds he could and hoping that carrying Kakashi back to Konoha would not make any of his internal injuries worse. After a few minutes of intense work, he realized that there was nothing more he could do for the Jounin, not at his skill level. He tried to ignore Pakkun pacing behind him, but he honestly wanted to join the pug. He was very worried.

After bracing himself, Iruka slowly stood and lifted Kakashi up over his shoulders. The Jounin groaned, and Iruka shifted him carefully, praying to any deity that was listening that they would allow Kakashi to make it back home alive.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Tsundae-sama." Shizune burst into the room, shaking her head as she approached the Gondaime's desk. "We haven't been able to find Iruka-sensei anywhere. I grabbed Shikamaru-kun and put him in charge of Iruka's class, but…."

Tsunade studied the tile depicting Iruka that sat in the center of her desk blotter. "It's not like him." Her brows drew together. "Any word from Kakashi?"

Shizune shook her head. "No. He was supposed to be back today." She paused, working through Tsundae's line of thought. "You don't think?"

"I think that if anyone is likely to make Iruka-sensei break the rules it's Kakashi-san." Tsunade pressed the tips of her fingers together in front of her face. "I'm worried. About both of them."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kotetsu yawned hugely and dropped his head down onto his arms. "I hate this job."

"Could be worse."

"How could it possibly be worse?"

"We could be carrying papers around for Tsunade-sama."

Kotetsu raised his head quickly from his arms and gave Izumo a thumbs-up. "Touché."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Kotetsu remembered what he was going to ask Izumo about. "Hey, they've got that Shikamaru kid teaching Iruka-san's class, and did you see that look on Tsunade-sama's face when we got there today. I don't think she'd be so mad at Iruka if he was on a mission or if he was just sick. But I can't imagine he'd leave the village without orders."

Izumo finished sorting the stack of papers in front of him and responded quietly as he was counting the pages. "Must be that he was late for coming back from a mission. Iruka-san would not break those kind of rules."

"What...?" Kotetsu stood slowly, looking far into the distance down the path that led from the village gates. Izumo rose to stand beside him and shaded his eyes with his hand to get a better view.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The only thing running through Iruka's mind was that he had to put one foot in front of the other. Kakashi's only hope was getting to the hospital and to Tsunade. He had been carrying the Jounin for almost two days without a break, unable to run for fear of further injuring Kakashi. He was beyond tired, beyond hungry, beyond thirsty, and he didn't care,

His hair hung loose about his face, bobbing with every step. The vest covering his torso was unzipped and covered in blood. The skin underneath it had blood trails on it from him wiping his hands and from his sweat running through the blood dripping from Kakashi's body around his neck. If anything had been able to get through Iruka's single-minded determination, he would have realized that in his haste to get to Kakashi's side he had left his sandals at home and that he had cut both of his feet on sharp rocks and undergrowth during the trek back.

Iruka's whole body was shaking, having reached its limit; none of his training had prepared him for anything like this. The Chuunin raised his head and focused on the red gates before him, promising his body that he would be able to stop once he reached that point.

Kotetsu and Izumo rushed to meet him as his legs gave out, and they caught Kakashi before the injured Jounin crashed to the ground. Iruka did not even have the strength to catch himself as he passed out and collapsed in the dirt.

The last thing he heard was Tsunade shouting incoherent orders at the other two Chuunin. Then her voice grew clearer as she knelt next to him, cursing Kakashi and telling the Jounin to breathe.

Iruka's heart spasmed in his chest. _Oh, god, don't let him die….._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Please let me know what you think!!!! (!!!!!!) I'm serious! Reviews help me write and I really (really really) need constructive criticism. I hope everyone who started reading at Running Into Each Other is enjoying the story lines so far. Again let me know! Especially if you feel like I haven't lived up to the beginning….

Oh, well, I guess that's all the pleading I can do without losing my small shreds of dignity. (please please please….slaps inner voice) cough Sorry about that, I promise, no more begging!

Sunlight through Leaves


	2. AWOL

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!!!!!! You really made my day! I'm glad that people are still enjoying these stories and I hope this iteration is as enjoyable as the others.

As always, not beta-d. Forgive any stupid mistakes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

His eyes opened incredibly slowly, and he winced as the bright light stabbed through the window. He recognized the plain white ceiling of a hospital room and turned his head in short increments, trying to ignore the pain ripping through the front of his skull. He opened his mouth to ask the only question that was important to him, but before he could even draw a breath, a soft voice answered him.

"He's fine." A gentle, but firm, hand reached out to push him back down onto the bed before he could even try to sit up. She paused for a moment before continuing, "It was very close. If you had gotten here any later….I don't know what would have happened."

Iruka dropped his head back against the pillow, hissing slightly as his brain seemed to think about exploding within the confines of his head. "Oh…thank god…." He raised a weary arm and dropped it over his eyes to block out the light. "Can I see him?"

In the silence that greeted him, Iruka felt his stomach flip over. _Why isn't she saying anything?_

Tsunade leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and rubbing her forehead with one hand. "I can't allow that for now."

Iruka's stomach continued to do summersaults. "W-why?"

She heaved an enormous sigh. "Iruka-san." She shook her head, clasping her hands together. "You left Konoha without a mission and without notifying anyone. You of all people…"

"Tsunade-sama!" A new voice interrupted.

"Shizune…" Iruka had never heard such a point on Tsunade's voice, and Shizune took the hint, snapping her mouth closed and stepping back against the wall. "You of all people should know that is not allowed." She continued in a slightly softer tone, but Iruka could hear the fury just below her voice. She rose and turned without saying a word, pausing at the door. "Until further notice, you're restricted to this room."

Iruka had sat up in the bed, ignoring the ricocheting pain in his head. "Tsunade-sama?!"

Shizune looked back and forth between him and Tsunade, then scrambled after her boss. As the door swung shut, Iruka heard Tsunade snap, "Are you happy?" He heard several muttered responses, then the door closed fully, cutting him off from the outside world.

In the deafening silence, he stared out the wide windows that looked over Konoha, unable to form any coherent thoughts.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A soft creaking woke Iruka at some point in the early hours of the morning. He saw a sliver of the moon showing through the very upper corner of the window, and he made a half-hearted grab for the clock on the bedside table. His hand clipped the corner of it hard enough to spin it around, showing him that it was almost 3:30 in the morning.

Iruka sat up slowly, watching the door as it swung open slowly, and Shizune stuck her head around the door jam. She waved to Iruka, "Can you walk?"

"I think so." He slid his feet out from under the covers and almost when down on his knees as he tried to put his weight on his legs. Shizune ducked under his arm quickly and steadied him while he found his balance. After a few seconds, Iruka managed to stabilize himself enough that he could follow her. "Shizune-san…I'm not supposed to leave my room."

Shizune glanced back over her shoulder. "You didn't take that seriously?" She stopped dead at the look on Iruka's face. "Did you?"

"Shizune-san…" Iruka paused, putting his hand on the wall. "Tsunade-sama was…was…" He searched around for a slightly more polite word. "Well, she was pissed."

Shizune shook her head. "She was pissed at the elders. They've been calling for blood since Konoha's so short staffed. They want to make an example of you, but she's been arguing for you for the past day and a half, since she got out of Kakashi's treatment." Shizune waved him forward, continuing to move down the mostly deserted hallways of the hospital, and Iruka followed her slowly. "I was trying to get her to clue you off when she was in your room earlier, but…."

He walked in silence for the majority of the hallway. "But, she still hasn't cleared me, has she?" He tried desperately to ignore the knotting in his stomach as his brain ran through all the possibilities if he was banished from Konoha.

"She will." Shizune interrupted his thoughts, with no doubt in her voice. "Ah, here we are. I'll be outside." She gently pushed Iruka through the door in front of her.

Iruka sucked in a stabilizing breath, then coughed as pain creased his side. He could not imagine how Kakashi must be feeling if he felt this rotten just from running himself to exhaustion.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A feathery soft touch brought him back from the brink of darkness. The dream feeling was all too familiar to him. He'd been hospitalized for life-threatening injuries so many times that he'd lost count, and the darkness surrounding his mind was always associated with the deep trance over-use of chakra put him in. The light touch on his face, however, was new.

Even though his hand felt like lead, Kakashi managed to reach up to catch the hand stroking his hair out of his face. As his fingers closed around the others, he opened his eyes and met the gaze of the one person he was ever actually happy to see. "Iruka…" He offered a weak smile that broadened when Iruka smiled back at him.

"Hey." Iruka was settled on the edge of his bed, one leg pulled up beneath him, leaning over Kakashi. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." Kakashi tried to sit up and let out a startled grunt of pain. "Okay," he admitted when he caught the look on Iruka's face. "Maybe not so fine, but I should be okay shortly."

Iruka rolled his eyes. "Just don't push it. I'm not saving your ass again."

Kakashi winked rakishly at his boyfriend. "And I thought you liked my ass…."

He was rewarded with a scarlet blush that rushed across Iruka's cheeks. The Jounin grinned happily up at the other man, then confusion washed across his face. "What time is it?"

"Close to 4 am."

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Kakashi gave his lover a quizzical expression.

"The nurses are fanatical about not letting me out of my room. This is the first chance I've gotten." In the pale moonlight that filtered in through the window, Kakashi was sure he saw Iruka's face loose all color as he spoke. It was such a strange reaction to such a simple statement, but Kakashi could barely keep his eyes open, let alone form enough of a coherent thought to ask about it. Iruka noticed his struggle and leaned over to plant a kiss on the Jounin's forehead. "Go back to sleep. I should probably be getting back before they notice I'm gone."

Kakashi had drifted off before Iruka finished speaking, and the Chuunin paused for a moment to run his fingers through the silky, gravity defying hair before easing himself off the bed and slipping out of the room.

He followed Shizune back to his room in silence, but when they reached the door, he grabbed Shizune's arm before she could walk off. "Shizune-san." She stopped, studying the expression on his face. "Please, I don't want him to know about the elders and…and all of that. Please. I just…just want him to get better."

Shizune felt her heart tighten at the look on Iruka's face. _He doesn't want Kakashi to worry about him. _She twisted so that she could put a hand on his arm as well. "I'll make sure he doesn't find out." The relief that passed over Iruka's face only made it worse.

Shizune turned on her heel and started to walk away. Before she reached the branch in the hallway, she turned. "I won't tell him. But you should."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Iruuuuuuuuka-sensei!" Naruto shouted when he saw his former teacher come around the corner.

Sakura pulled back her fist, "Naruto! We're in a hospital!" Both she and Naruto were camped out at the nurse's station. Even though they couldn't go see Kakashi, they still wanted updates on his progress.

At Iruka's heels, Pakkun looked up at the two genin and rolled his eyes. "Pups…."

"Iruka-sensei! Is Kakashi-sensei all right??" Naruto asked. None of the students had been allowed into the room. Tsunade had claimed that they (or Naruto in particular) were too hyper and would disrupt Kakashi's healing. Iruka knew that they weren't allowing the students in because he was afraid they would accidentally reveal that Iruka was being investigated. He'd asked Tsunade to give him an excuse to keep the genin out of the room; thankfully, he wasn't worried about Kakashi's fellow jounin. It would have been harder to keep them out.

Iruka reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair. "He'll be fine, Naruto-kun. Tsunade-sama says that'll he'll be out of the hospital in a couple of days."

Sakura shook her head, "Bet Kakashi-sensei doesn't like being held in the hospital."

Iruka chuckled. "You could say that." He finished signing in at the nurse's station and turned around to enter Kakashi's room. As he pushed the door open, he paused for a moment, allowing Pakkun to go in before him.

"Well-trained." The nin-dog muttered.

Iruka glared down at the little pug "I'll show you well-trained." He growled, bent down and grabbed the dog around the middle. With a swift jerk, he tossed the dog up onto the bed, ignoring the grumbling from Pakkun as he land with an 'oomf' on Kakashi's legs.

Said Jounin gave Iruka an incredibly dejected look. "Do I still have to stay here?"

"Stop whining." Iruka mock-scolded, shaking an admonishing finger at Kakashi.

"But, Iruuuuukaaaaa…."

"Knock it off!" Despite the strict tone of voice, Kakashi could see the sparkle of amusement at the back of Iruka's eyes. The Chuunin settled down on the edge of the bed, crossed his arms and stared the Jounin down. "The nurses told me you tried to escape yesterday."

Kakashi shrugged a weird, one-shouldered shrug, since his bandaged right side did not really move very well. "Maaa, I was bored."

Iruka sighed, "Yeah, I heard that." For just a second, Kakashi was sure he saw some other emotion beneath surface of Iruka's face. If he hadn't known better he would have thought it was sadness, but Iruka did not have anything to be sad about. It was gone very quickly, and Iruka's happy expression was firmly back in place. Kakashi would have worried about it, but Iruka's happiness did not seem like a mask, and so he pushed it quickly from his mind.

After that brief pause, the Chuunin stared to speak hesitantly, "Now, I'm only doing this to give the nurses some peace…" He reached under the front of his vest and pulled out a small, orange book. He snatched the book out of Kakashi's reach when he saw the slightly maniacal gleam in Kakashi's eyes. "If I give you this, will you promise not to try and escape again?"

Kakashi nodded fervently and happily took the book from his boyfriend. Then he looked skeptically up at Iruka. "Did you really bring this all the way here under your vest?"

Iruka drew himself up. "Unlike you, I will not go walking around public with porn!"

"You were walking around in public with porn?" Another voice queried from the doorway. Iruka glared at Genma and Raidou as they both stuck their heads around the edge of the door. Under his breath, Pakkun muttered, "Too many humans for me; I'm out of here." And he disappeared off the bed before Genma and Raidou had made it into the room.

"I said that I wouldn't do that!" Iruka snapped.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Genma was holding a paper bag in his arms, and he strode purposefully into the room, taking the seat closest to Kakashi's head. Raidou remained standing at the end of the bed behind Iruka. "How're you doing, Kakashi-kun." His brows drew down when he realized that Kakahsi had already buried his nose in Icha Icha. "Hey! We brought you a present! The least you could do is pay attention!"

Iruka leaned forward and deftly snatched the book from Kakashi's weak hands. Kakashi being injured did have it's advantages; it brought Kakashi down to Iruka's level and allowed them to be on the same playing field.

"HEY!"

"You'll live." Iruka pointed out.

"I've been going through withdrawal! I haven't read a chapter since I came back." Kakashi whined, again.

"It'll be five minutes, tops. You'll live." Iruka had already tucked the book under his arm, keeping it safely out of Kakashi's reach.

"Besides," Genma added from the side of the bed. "I think you'll like this." He pulled out a book that looked to Iruka like it belonged on a coffee table. Until he got a look at the cover.

"You've got to be kidding me!!" The Chuunin yelped.

"Actually," Raidou pointed out, "I took a look through it, Iruka-san, and a lot of the position look like a lot of fun."

"Yeah, but ten bucks says the uke has to do all the bending." The minute the words left his mouth, Iruka's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and he buried his face in his hands, blushing all the way up to his ears. He tried to stammer out several apologies, or explanations, none of the other men could really tell what he was saying. "Ummm, class." He finally managed. "I have to go….gonna be late…." And he beat a _very_ hasty retreat.

As the door swung shut on the cloud of smoke Iruka'd left in his wake from speeding out of the room. Genma turned to Kakashi, "I don't think I've ever heard him say anything even remotely suggestive."

Raidou continued to stare at the door. "What have you done to him?"

"What haven't you done to him?" Genma wiggled his eyebrows and leered. Kakashi lobbed a pillow at him, and in the commotion, Raidou stooped to pick up the book that had been dropped on the floor.

"Hey, Iruka-san's right. We do have to do all the bending in these things."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Iruka made it back to his and Kakashi's shared room with almost thirty minutes to spare before class. When he opened the door, he noticed a letter had been shoved into the crack beneath the door. As he picked it up, he noticed his full name had been scrawled across the slightly yellowed paper. All memory of the previous embarrassment vanished from his mind, and he felt the color drain from his face as he unfolded the paper with the envelope.

As he read, his knees grew a little weak, and he let himself fall back onto the couch. As he finished reading, he set the paper down on the table in front of him and dropped his head into his hands. "What should I do?" He asked the empty room. Shizune had been right about the elders wanting his blood. Unfortunately, she had been wrong about Tsunade. So far, the elders had blocked every argument she'd presented, and the piece of paper now resting on the table was a summons for Iruka to present himself for an inquisition in two days.

"You know, dogs travel in packs for a reason."

The sheer insaneness of the statement pulled Iruka out of his self-pity. "What? Pakkun, I don't even know what that means."

The pug rolled his eyes and scrambled up onto the couch beside Iruka. "It means that we don't try to do things alone. Especially when we need help."

"I have help."

"We also don't hide things from out mates."

Iruka sighed wearily. "There's nothing Kakashi can do. Do you understand?"

Pakkun put a single paw up on Iruka's leg. "That doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell him."

Iruka turned his gaze away from the dog and stared out the window as the skies opened up, and the rain poured down, pelting against the hazy glass of the windows.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Honestly! Some of you actually thought that I would kill Kakashi? I don't even like reading character death stories; I can't even imagine writing them. Soooooo…what's the verdict? Like? Hate? Think this should be buried in soft peat for six weeks before dug up and shredded?? Let me know!!

Please!

Alright, I'm done.

Sunlight through Leaves


	3. Bear with me

New sequel called 'Running Late' Check it out! I wrote it to tide everyone over, since I don't have enough time to do the next chapter of Running for Life justice. It's a sweet, oneshot, that I hope you enjoy. 


	4. Mission First

Next chapter…. Not beta-d as always, you have been warned

Thanks for all the reviews! You guys rock!

Anchovies, this is for you, if for no other reason than to keep you from locking me in your basement… (and because your reviews always make me smile, chortle, and maybe even giggle a little) .

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"A-ano, Iruka-sensei." The tremulous and slightly whiny voice came from behind Iruka, and the Chuunin stopped reluctantly, placed a fake smile on his face, and then turned to face the spiky-haired girl.

"Good morning, Moegi-chan." He knelt down so that he was more at her level and tried to ignore the teary expression in the upturned face.

"You're not gonna be in class today, Iruka-sensei?"

"Eh?" The question caught Iruka completely by surprise; school did not start for at least another half an hour, and only he and Shikamaru, who was subbing for him, knew that he was being called up before the tribunal today.

"…." Moegi remained quiet for a minute, one hand raising to rub at her eyes. "You're going away from the academy." She sniffed.

Iruka winced. She must have followed him from the main road when he turned down the road that led to the meeting hall instead of continuing straight to the academy. But he forced down the expression and smiled at her, stretching out a hand to ruffle her hair and the goggles around her head. It all reminded him so much of Naruto.

That thought brought twisted agony through his system. If the hearing this morning went badly, then he would never know how Naruto's life would turn out. He would also never get to see his students now graduate, or watch them as they grew into the proficient ninjas that he knew they could be – even if their test scores did seem to indicate the contrary.

But he had learned long ago how to hide any signs of weakness – on his second or third week of teaching, his class had started to moan and groan about a pop quiz that he had been planning for three days when he realized they weren't doing their reading. For just a second, he'd let his sympathy – this had happened to him on several occasions when he came through the academy – show through his iron mask of the uncaring teacher, and the next thing he knew, Iruka'd been trussed up, tied to his chair with chakra-binding knots, and all of the students were out of the windows and cheering their freedom to the world. Much to his intense embarrassment, the Sandaime had rescued him, chuckling all the while at Iruka's rather inventive curses at previous teachers who had taught such high-level binding.

So in this instance, like any other time before this, Iruka let the happy mask descend over his face as he tousled Moegi's hair and managed to say, without too much of a catch in his voice. "I'm just running some errands, Moegi-chan. I'll see you in class."

"Y-y-you're not leaving?" Moegi stammered out.

"What makes you think I'm leaving?" Iruka countered calmly.

"My…my parents…t-they were talking about you being sent away by people." Moegi blushed suddenly and stared down at her feet when she caught sight of Iruka's expression. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Iruka-sensei!" She protested, mistaking his stricken look for a reproving look. "Really, I didn't. I just wanted a glass of water! And…and they said…"

Iruka pulled her into a gentle hug. "You know why it's bad to eavesdrop?" He released her and forced a smile as she shook her head back and forth. "That's how rumors get started." He tapped the end of her nose with his index finger. "See you in class, Moegi-chan." His heart twisted terribly as she grinned happily up at him, convinced that all was right in the world, that Iruka-sensei would be there when class started, and that her parents had just been confused about what they were talking about, and bounced away down the street.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

After stretching her hand and retracting it three times, Shizune finally gathered her courage and caught Iruka's shoulder with a firm, supportive squeeze. The Chuunin almost jumped out of his skin; he had been staring so intently at the great carved door that opened into the meeting room that he had not heard her approach.

"It's not as bad as you think." Shizune offered, trying to make up for the her original definitive statement that Tsunade would be able to get him out of this before he was hauled up in front of the elders.

Iruka gave her a look that would have stripped the paint from the walls.

"No, really." Shizune insisted. "Almost all of the elders didn't even show up. They sent in their votes without coming because they think this is a waste of time! And Tsunade-sama says that they all voted to drop the case."

"How many?"

"Eh, what?"

"How many have voted to drop my case?" Iruka whispered, unable to force his voice out through his constricted throat.

Shizune dropped her head. She should have realized that Iruka was smart enough to see past her attempt at cheering him up. "Less than half." The words were barely audible.

The Chuunin didn't seem to have heard her, or if he did, he did not seem to care. He stepped forward without hesitation and pushed through the ornate doors into the dark room beyond.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Iruka seated himself on the hard chair in the only circle of light in the room beyond. He could not see into the darkness at the edge of the light, but could hear the shuffling of papers and whispered voices.

"State your name." The voice was masculine, deep and unfamiliar. Iruka realized that the elders who had come to his trial were those that he had never met. His heart followed his stomach and dropped down into his shoes as he realized that he would have to convince a group of people who did not know him that he was worth keeping in Konoha. And he had no idea what he was going to say.

"Umino Iruka." He was immensely grateful that his voice did not tremble as he spoke, but came out clear and strong.

"And what is your occupation here, Umino-san?" The same man asked.

"Chuunin. I teach at the academy – pre-genins for the most part – and I work in the mission room. I take missions when they need me."

"You understand why you are here."

"Yes."

"Would you explain, in your own words, why we have brought you before this tribunal."

"I violated one of the rules of Konoha ninja. I left the village without orders and without notifying anyone of my intentions." Iruka spoke calmly, but quietly. He knew exactly what he had done.

"Do you believe you are guilty of leaving without orders?"

The silence in the room was palpable; Iruka could practically feel the chakra signatures beyond the light leaning forward, waiting for his response. And much as it tore him apart inside, there was only one truthful response to that question.

"Yes."

"Well. That settles…."

"I have a few questions, if you don't mind." A crystal, feminine voice cut across the other man's, and Iruka couldn't help but start, having already braced himself for the ruling that would banish him.

"Why did you do it?" The woman asked, curiosity lacing her voice.

Iruka swallowed hard to clear the sudden hope in his throat that maybe, just maybe… "A fellow nin was too badly injured to return to the village. I left to bring him home safely."

"Why did you not contact the Hokage and inform her of your intent?"

"Every second counted." Iruka pushed himself to the front edge of his chair, hearing his voice grow with intensity as he remembered just how close Kakashi had come to death. "If I hadn't gotten to him when I did, he would be dead now."

"Is this true, Hokage-sama?" The woman queried.

Iruka's eyes widened and scanned the enclosing darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tsunade's face and feeling infinitely more comfortable just from the knowledge that someone in the pitch black was on his side.

"He would not have survived." Tsunade's familiar voice answered. "As it was, we just barely kept him alive."

"Hmmmm." The woman puzzled.

"This is immaterial!" The original man snapped. "He admits that he broke one of the rules…"

"He saved another ninja's life." The woman interrupted.

"Mission first!" The man snapped, parroting the line that so many nin knew by heart. "There are always lives lost, but the mission must always come first!"

Iruka actually rose out of the chair, fist clenched at his sides in anger. "Fat lot of good it does you if you come back from a mission with none of your group alive!"

"Sit down, Chuunin!" The man barked.

"The man who abandons his companions is lower than dirt." Iruka stated in a quiet and calm voice that was belied by the way his fists shook with barely suppressed fury. "I will not be accused of leaving those I can save behind."

"Hmm." A voice spoke from the very back of the darkness, and Iruka strained his eyes, trying to put a face on the whispery voice. "That sounds a lot like what the White Fang used to say." As the speaker paused, the others seemed to not dare to break the silence. "It was his son that you saved, was it not?"

"Yes." Iruka answered, puzzled by the question.

"Umino-san makes a good point. While mission almost always comes first, we could never forgive each other, or even ourselves, if we abandoned a comrade to death." The voice paused again, and the silence stretched out over agonizing minutes. Iruka had returned to his seat and was trying desperately to ignore the trickle of cold sweat down his back. Deep down, he knew that the next words would determine his fate.

"Even though he did violate one of our rules," The unknown person continued, finally. "His intentions uphold everything that we, as ninja, are supposed to uphold. I will not cast my vote against him."

In the darkness, a feminine voice that some of the more savvy listeners would identify as that of the Gondaime, whispered. "Yes!"

"And I believe," The whispery voice added, "That only one vote was needed to turn the tables." He seemed to be speaking to the people around him, then his voice was raised to address Iruka. "Even if the others here vote against you, they will not be able to banish you." Iruka thought he heard the faintest amusement in the other's voice.

Tsunade suddenly appeared at the edge of the circle of light, and she hauled him to his feet with all her considerable strength. She turned back to address the people that he still could not see. "Thank you very much, elders. I'm sure we've taken too much of your time. And I assure that he will be punished for breaking the rules." Behind her, Iruka winced surreptitiously, but then gave himself a mental smack reminding himself that the alternative would have been much worse.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

At the very back of the meeting room, a pale man with long dark hair turned towards the lanky figure that lounged against the wall behind him with his face obscured by both a mask and a little orange book. "Interesting line of defense to take. Did you teach him that, Kakashi?"

The silver-haired jounin shook his head, and the other man smirked slightly. While none of the other elders might have spotted it, he'd noticed that Kakashi had not turned a single page in Icha Icha since he had entered the room. The Jounin had been incredibly worried about the outcome of this trial, even though had tried desperately not to show it, and had made his appearance here in case he needed to help argue for the Chuunin himself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Once outside, Iruka took off at a run to their apartment, hoping to gather his school supplies and get back to the academy before Shikamaru did any lasting damage. The last time the lazy Chuunin had taken over the class, it had taken Iruka almost two whole days to undo the misconceptions Shikamaru had passed on. When he reached his apartment, he smiled when he saw Pakkun asleep on his back in the center of the couch, and all it once it hit him.

All the fears that he'd suppressed over the past week, all the horrors of not getting to see his students again, of having to sleep without Kakashi's warmth curled up against his side, of not being able to get up every morning and grab a cup of coffee before trying to force information into a bunch of unwilling heads, of never getting tackled by Naruto again and begged for ramen, of not getting to be here the day Sasuke came home, of….the list went on and on, and Iruka started to fall to the floor, burying his face in his hands and trying smother sobs and gasps with his dark uniform sleeve.

Before he made it completely to the floor, arms wrapped around his shoulders and cradled him against a vest-padded chest as they both continued on the trip to the floor. The other man let out a slight grunt of pain as they landed, but Iruka was too shaken to notice. Pale fingers slipped the hairband out and combed through his hair, "Shhhhh….shhhh." The fingers continued to massage his scalp gently. "It's okay, love, you were brilliant."

Even through his wallowing of self pity, Iruka couldn't help but recognize the voice. "K-k-kakashi?" He slowly managed to push himself out of the Jounin's arms, apologizing profusely when Kakashi gasped and cursed in pain. "You were there…? You knew…?"

Kakashi's single blue eye studied him sharply. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Iruka opened and closed his mouth, doing a fair imitation of a stranded fish, then stared down at the floor, unable to meet Kakashi's gaze.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

One more chapter, I think. Lemme know what you think!!!! And again, shame on you people who thought I'd banish Iruka! Honestly. I write happy funny stuff (this is probably going to be about as dark as I get….yay for happy fluff!)

Aaaaanyhooo, review, review, review! I really want to know what you think. As I said, I don't usually write things like this, so I need advice. Even if you think it sucks or was confusing, let me know!!!

Alright, I'm done.

Sunlight through Leaves


	5. Wierd Families

Last chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who is reading these silly stories. This one didn't turn out nearly as good as I hoped it would. I gotta say, I love how Running Away came out – it's my favorite – and I feel like this kinda took the steam out of it…. Ah well, I hope you guys are enjoying it anyway.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"A-a-ano, I…I…" Iruka continued to stare at the floor, then his facial expression set, and he twisted his head to meet Kakashi's eye. "I was afraid that you would push yourself and re-injure yourself if you knew. And I didn't think the elders were that serious."

The Jounin reached out and ran his thumb underneath Iruka's eye, brushing away the tears that still clung to his lower lashes. "These say otherwise." Iruka jerked his head out of Kakashi's grasp.

"But you always overdo things, and you were so badly injured…"

"I was fine!" Kakashi interrupted. "Maa, if I'd just ripped a few pages out of Icha Icha to staunch the bleeding, I could've walked home."

Iruka grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "YOU ALMOST DIED!" The Chuunin pushed away from him and rose to his feet to pace across the room. "Honestly! You stupid, overconfident Jounin! You all think you're absolutely immortal! Doesn't matter," He gestured wildly, "How many times you've been hit or how much blood you've lost! You always think that you can just walk home! _I_ had to carry you home this time, and you barely made it! Tsunade-sama actually thought you were going to die! Pakkun thought you were going to die!" Iruka folded his arms across his chest and glared down at Kakashi. "You know what I think? I think the Jounin exam is a load of bullshit! They just bring you in to remove your frontal lobes and your common sense glands and…and….." Iruka rocked to a halt as he started to storm back. "Wait. W-wha-what did you just say?"

Kakashi looked up at him with a falsely innocent look on his face. "Whaddya mean?"

"You…you…" Iruka was pointing a very confused finger at him. "You said you were going to rip pages out of Icha Icha?"

One eyebrow arched upwards.

"Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" Iruka's brows drew down over his eyes as the rest of his brain caught up with what Kakashi had said. "You did that on purpose!"

"You're not crying anymore." Kakashi pointed out.

"Jerk."

"Maaaaaa, Iruka…" Kakashi stood up, intending to pull Iruka into his arms again.

The Chuunin barely managed to catch him as Kakashi's eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Eh heh heh." Shizune rubbed her hand across the back of her head. "Well, I…" She quailed underneath the look Iruka was giving her. "You weren't going to tell him, so…."

Iruka stood in front of her in the entryway of the hospital, with Kakashi's arm draped over his shoulder, one arm around the Jounin's waist to support his weight. He looked more than a little upset.

"I didn't know that he'd left!" Shizune protested, waving her hands back and forth rapidly. "We only just discovered it a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, when his clone disappeared because he passed out when his wounds started bleeding again!"

"Why didn't you tell him to come back when you saw him?" Shizune countered.

"I thought he'd been discharged. I didn't think that you would actually let him go wandering around if he wasn't completely healed." Iruka snapped.

"Well, ummm." Shizune moved to Kakashi's other side and pulled his arm over her shoulders. "We should probably get him into his room."

"Ya think?"

OOOOOOOOOOOO

The all-too-familiar smell that assaulted his nose when he woke up told him that his worst fears had been realized. He was, indeed, back in the hospital. He let out a groan as he opened his eyes and glared foggily at the pony-tailed Chuunin who sat at his bedside making marks on the stack of papers sitting in his lap. "Whazzat?" Kakashi coughed to clear his throat, then tried again. "Why am I back in here?"

"You started bleeding again." Iruka responded without looking up.

"Oh." Kakashi looked down at his hands, "Sorry. Shoulda told you they hadn't released me, huh?"

Iruka glanced up briefly, and then looked back down again, "Yeah, that would have helped."

"Thanks for catching me, though." Kakashi grinned happily at him.

"Pain."

How Kakashi managed to get such a hang-dog expression when most of his face was covered, Iruka had never been able to work out and probably would never be able to figure out. "I'm a loveable pain, right?"

Iruka sighed and studied him, "Yeah, I guess." He managed to resist the puppy dog look on Kakashi's face for only a few more seconds before rolling his eyes and giving in. He straightened the stack of papers and slipped them back inside the shoulder bag that hung over the back of his chair, and then carefully crawled into the hospital bed, curling his body around Kakashi's and taking up all the free space.

"You still mad?" Kakashi asked as he twisted his fingers into the end of Iruka's ponytail.

Iruka nuzzled his nose into the Jounin's neck. "Mmmm, I guess not." They lay in content silence for a few minutes.

"Maa, Iruka?"

"Hmmm?"

"Pakkun went straight to you after I summoned him?" It was something that had been bothering Kakashi ever since he discovered that Tsunade had not known about his rescue until Iruka came back. He would have expected the nin-dog to go to the Hokage first.

Iruka shrugged broadly. "Yeah. Guess he thought I should know."

"Strange." Kakashi's mind whirled; his own adage running through his head. Look underneath the underneath. "You know, it's easiest for them to transport back to where they were when they're summoned. If Pakkun was really stressed, he might go straight back to….you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Iruka buried his face deeper in Kakashi's shoulder. While he was usually quite good at lying, he was finding it harder and harder to lie to Kakashi.

"Oh, really." Kakashi dug his finger in under Iruka's chin and pulled the Chuunin's head out of the crook of his neck. When he saw the embarrassed blush on Iruka's face, he knew that there was some story here to be told.

"A-a-ano…Well, we uh…" Iruka blushed deeper. "We just don't sleep very well without you, so Pakkun…Pakkun always sleeps on my bed when you're gone…." The last came out in an embarrassed rush. "And so help me, Kakashi, if you say…"

"Awwwww." He barely dodged the fist that buried itself into the pillow next to his head. "I didn't know I meant that much to you guys."

"Well, of course you mean that much to us, baka!" Iruka spluttered.

"Hmm." Kakashi pulled Iruka back into his arms and settled back onto the bed. "Good."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Iruka followed Naruto at a much slower pace than normal. His thoughts were still caught up in the fight with Mizuki; his mind was still trying to grapple with just how much of a bastard Mizuki had actually been, even though he was pretty sure that his heart had known all along.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted from in front of him. "We're back!"

Iruka looked up and was surprised to see the gates of Konoha before them already.

"Oi." Pakkun looked up at him from the spot where he was trotting along by Iruka's feet. "You alright?"

Iruka offered a half smile. "Yeah." He looked up to study the sunrise over Konoha, "It'll be better when we get home."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Iruka dropped onto the windowsill and slipped in through the open pane. Kakashi sat up sharply and shoved something gray and fuzzy under the covers even as he smiled up at Iruka. "You're back!"

The Chuunin pounced.

Pakkun entered the apartment through a much more normal route, namely the door, just in time to hear a loud conversation break out from the adjoining room.

"What is that thing?"

"It's nothing important!"

"If it's nothing important, why can't I see it?"

"Because!"

"That's not an answer, Kakashi!"

Pakkun turned around in surprise as footsteps sounded behind him. Genma pushed in through the partially open door – Pakkun was good at opening doors, even locked ones, but he had never been trained to close them – with the intention of informing Iruka that Tsunade needed to talk to him about the skirmish with Mizuki. He was greeted by a pair of startled yelps coming from the bedroom and a loud crash that seemed to echo around the room.

"Yo, Iruka-kun, Tsunade-sama needs to…." He fell silent, senbon drooping between his lips. Kakashi and Iruka were on a heap in the floor, a large, gray plushie dolphin held between them. "Uh, I'm not even going to ask."

As he turned to leave, he waved his hand over his shoulder. "Tsunade-sama needs to see you when you get a chance."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi chuckled inwardly as Iruka yawned hugely. Kakashi was busy finishing a mission report, and, for the first time in his memory, Iruka'd actually managed to finish work before he did. The Chuunin was only up now because Kakashi hadn't completed the report yet, and Iruka'd promised he would stay up and help him. Kakashi rubbed his hand across the back of his head. "Go to sleep, Iruka. I'll be in shortly." Iruka rose slowly and, without protest, made his way to the bedroom.

When Kakashi finally joined him, Iruka had wrapped himself completely around the plushie dolphin that Kakashi usually used to fill the void when Iruka went on missions. The Jounin just shook his head in affection and crawled onto the bed, gathering both dolphins into his arms, and sighed in great contentment.

He didn't even protest too much when Pakkun leapt onto the bed and sprawled across their legs.

"Gods, we're a messed up family." Kakashi muttered into Iruka's hair.

"Could be worse."

"Eh?"

"I could be Gai." Iruka burst out laughing as Kakashi's arms tightened desperately around him.

"Please no." Kakashi whimpered miserably. "I'm going to have nightmares now."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That's it. It's done (finally). However, whether this series has gotten completely out of hand or not, I am writing another one….(cue dramatic music here). But I need help! I need name suggestions (1 boy, 1 girl) with meaning, if there is one, or a reason you suggested it, if you have one.

Please give me suggestions, or I'll make something up that's really stupid and everyone's going to laugh at me….(which would be horribly sad).

The next one's going to be called 'Running Home.' Keep an eye out for it. If you want. If you don't want, well then leave your eyes were they are!

Sunlight through Leaves


End file.
